Oil refiner for internal-combustion engines



April 19, 1927.

C. LILLEY OIL REFINER FOR INTERNKL COMBUSTION ENGINES Filed Aug. 51, 1925 INVENTOR QZL/LLEV ATTORNEYS Patented Apr, 19, 1927.

UNITED STATES CLARENCE E. LILLEY, 0J5 KANSAS CITY, MiI-SSOURI.

OIL REFINER FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES Application filed August 31, 1925. Serial No. 53,607.

My invention relates to improvements in oil refiners for internal combustion engines, and it consists in the combinations, constructions, and arrangements herein described and claimed.

An object of my invention is to provide an oil refiner for internal combustion engines which may be readily attached to a standard engine, and which has means for filtering the oil and also for heating the oil, whereby the oil will more readily flow through the filter. The heating is accomplished by the exhaust gases from the engine.

A further object of my invention is to provide an oil refiner for internal combustion engines of the type described which makes use of a by-pass for leading off volatile gases from the oil, and for conveying these gases to the carburetor of the'engine.

A further object of my invention is to provide an oil refiner for internal combustion engines of the type described which is extremely simple in construction, durable and thoroughly efiicient for the purpose intended, and which is not likely to easily get out of order.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification, and the novel features of the invention will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming part of this application, in which- Figure 1 is an end elevation of the device as shown operatively applied to an engine, and

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the device, portions thereof being broken away.

In carrying out my invention I make use of an internal combustion engine 1 which employs the usual carburetor 2, an exhaust manifold 3, and an exhaust pipe 4.

My invention consists of a casing 5 having openings 6 in the side walls thereof for receiving the exhaust manifold 3, see Figure 1. The casing 5 has an opening 7 in the top that is normally covered by a cover 8.

The casing 5 is divided into two compartments 9 and 10. The compartment 9 carries a filter 11, while the compartment 10 has the exhaust manifold 3 projecting therethrough. Bars or rods 12 support the filter 11 while still permitting the oil to drain from the compartment 9 into the compartment 10. An oil inlet pipe 13 communicates with the compartment 9 and an oil outlet pipe 11- connnunicates with the bottom of the compartment 10. Another plpe 15 also communicates with the compartment 10, but at the top thereof. This pipe receives any volatile gases and conveys these gases to the carburetor 2. It should be noted that the pipe 15 enters the carburetor 2 at a point just below the. butterfly valve 16. A manually controlled valve 17 regulates the amount of oil entering the compartment 9.

From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device, the operation thereof should be readily understood. When the device is in operation, the pipe 13 connects with the force-feed pump, not shown, in the oiling system. As just stated, the valve 17 controls the amount of oil flowing through the pipe 13 and into the compartment 9. The oil entering the compartment 9 seeps through the filter 11 to permit the filter to strain the oil. Of course, the filter is heated to a certain extent because it is in close proximity to the exhaust manifold 23. This heat causes the oil to flow more readily and therefore the oil will quickly seep through the filter.

At this point, the oil will drop upon the exhaust manifold and will be further heated so as to cause some of the oil to change into a vapor. This vapor is conveyed away from the pipe 15 to the carburetor 2, as heretofore stated. The filtered oil is returned to the crank casing 18 by means of the pipe 14, this pipe conveying the oil to the breather pipe 19. It will therefore be seen that the device provides a novel and efficient means for straining the oil, this straining being more quickl accomplished by heating the oil to a sligitextent. hen the filter has become clogged with foreign matter, the cover 8 may be removed so as to permit a new filter to be substituted for the old one. The device is extr-emel simple in construction and thoroughly efhcient for the purpose intended.

I claim:

A device of the type described comprising a casing having an upper and a lower compartment therein, a filter disposed in the upper compartment, heating means disposed in the lower compartment for heating the oil flowing through the upper compartment, means for conveying oil to the upper con'ipartment, means for conveying the filtered oil away from the lower com pertinent, and means for conveying the volatile gases from the oil to the carburetor of the engine.

The combination with an internal combustion engine having an oiling system, an exhaust manifold, and a carburetor, of a casing having an upper and lower compartment, oil-conducting means connecting the oiling system with the upper compartment, a filter disposed in said upper compartment,

CLARENCE E. LILLEY. 

